Charismatic
by ichigogyunyu
Summary: Veronica Carlson is your typical girl from Brooklyn, and she's just got a new job working at The Second Time Around. What happens when she meets the turtles and her life is changed forever? Currently on hold, but worth the wait!
1. Prologue

**Title: **Charismatic  
**Author: **Innocent Star Gazer  
**Beta'ed: **fantasyAge  
**Pairings: **April/Casey, Future Raphael/Veronica  
**Rating: **Young Adult - Mature  
**Warnings:** Mature language, Adult content, Mutant/Human relationships.

Prologue

"Thanks again for hirin' me, Miss O'Neil." Veronica said sincerely to the owner of Second Time Around, standing behind the counter and getting everything ready to open the shop. She walked towards the door and switched the neon sign to 'Open'.

"Of course, Ronnie. It's hard running the shop alone, and you were exactly who I was looking for." April replied happily. "I'll be upstairs in my apartment if you need anything. Just come in." She said kindly, making her way to the door.

"Yeah, no problem, Miss O'Neil." April gave a small smile.

"April's fine." Veronica nodded and watched as the woman closed the door behind her and then turned back to her job. This is just what she needed: a peaceful, normal environment. Ron closed her eyes and sighed contently. This was perfect.

The sun streamed through the windows, the sign of the beginning of a beautiful spring morning in New York City.

_A/N: My first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fanfiction, set in the new (2003) cartoon era. OK, so Veronica is an OC from Brooklyn. I tried my best to capture the Brooklyn accent right, and I think I did pretty well, especially in the next chapter. Now, the storyline basically goes along with the original storyline to make things easier, but changes to fit with some of my ideas. There will eventually be a relationship between Raphael and Veronica, so don't read if you disapprove of that. Technically, since Raph is a mutant, I don't think it counts as bestiality. That's about it, chapter one will be up soon, just have to finish it up and add notes. Please review._


	2. The Things That Happen in New York

**Title: Charismatic  
Author: Innocent Star Gazer  
Beta'ed: fantasyAge  
Pairings: April/Casey, Future Raphael/Veronica  
Rating: Young Adult - Mature  
Warnings: Mature language, Adult content, Mutant/Human relationships.  
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.**

The Things That Happen in New York

"Guys," April said, "it's not safe to be here! I have a new girl working here and if she comes up--"

"April, ya need ta relax. She's not gonna." Raphael replied and twirled his sai nonchalantly beside Mikey, who was sitting in a chair, sipping the tea April had made for him. She looked worried about the situation, but said nothing else about it.

"A new girl? You can't run the shop by yourself, April?" Don asked her. She shook her head.

"No, not at the moment, I'm too stressed out. Besides, she was looking for a job and she's a really nice girl." April sighed and smiled.

"That was nice of you, April." Leo commented. Splinter nodded in agreement and sipped his tea in unison with Michelangelo. Raph continued to twirl his sai idly, obviously bored. Sitting down and drinking tea wasn't exactly his favourite way to spend his evenings. The turtles noticed April starting to get uneasy.

"Guys, it's 10 minutes until closing. She's going to come up here and see you!" Raph sighed.

"Dun worry about it, April. She'll probably knock first." April nodded slowly.

"April, I'm starving. Can I get something to eat please?" Mikey asked. She looked and him and nodded. He went into the kitchen, with menacing glares from Splinter at his back. Everyone heard him searching through the cupboards, freezer and pantry, looking for something he wanted to snack on. A few minutes later, a large crash was heard.

"MIKEY!"

* * *

The day so far had gone pretty well. About 20 customers, all polite and she had managed to sell something to almost all of them. Veronica smiled again when it seemed like her last customer walked in. An intelligent looking man, wearing a lab-coat and glasses, an eye-patch over one eye. He looked at the girl behind the counter with dislike. She noticed, but ignored him. She couldn't let her anger get the best of her because she would definitely get fired if she knocked the man's lights out. He walked up to her.

"Good mornin', sir. How can I help ya?" He adjusted his glasses and stood up straight.

"Yes, I'm looking for Miss. O'Neil, April O'Neil. If she's still here, of course." Veronica gave him a confused look.

"O' course she's still hea. Why wouldn't she be?" The man said nothing. "She's upstairs, would ya like me to go get her?"

"Oh no, that's fine. Just tell her that Baxter Stockman dropped by to check on her. Good day, Miss ... ?"

"Ca'lson." Baxter seemed unimpressed with the teenage girl, but said nothing else and walked out of the store. She waited until he left. "Jerk." Then she checked her watch. 6:00 pm, closing. Veronica switched off the sign and took the keys from her pocket, locking the doors and shutting the windows, as well as locking them. She counted the money in the register and found that she had the perfect amount in the till. Ronnie then made her way up the stairs to go see Miss O'Neil.

Veronica reached the door and touched the knob, but paused. Should she knock? April had told her that she didn't need to. She turned the knob and walked in. Her eyes widened immediately.

* * *

Veronica just stared at the scene in front of her. April was sitting with three green men and a giant rat having tea. Everyone just stared at her as well, but no one said a word. Mikey came out of the kitchen.

"Sorry." He apologized, then noticed the teenage girl and gave a huge grin. "Hi there!" She smiled back nervously, eyeing the nunchaku attached his his belt. He noticed that she was uncomfortable and chuckled. "What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a mutant or something!"

"Michelangelo! That is enough!" Splinter said loudly. Her eyes flicked over to the rat and he looked back at her. "My apologies."

"Heh, no problem." She replied and handed the envelope full of money to April.

"Sorry to disturb ya, April, but hea's all of today's profits."

"Oh, thank you, Veronica." She counted it and looked at the receipts. "It's exact. Not short, and there's no more than what should be there. I'm impressed, usually people try and take advantage of younger girls in shops."

"Thanks ... oh, also a man named Baxta Stockman was in lookin' for ya. I asked 'im if he wanted me to get ya, April, but he said he was just checkin' on ya," she told her boss kindly, then looked around at the turtles that were staring at her. April's expression turned to fear quickly.

"Baxter ... Stockman?" The blue bandanaed turtle turned to her.

"Don't worry, April. We'll protect you." He said. Everyone's attention turned to the teenage girl again. She looked at them nervously and finally asked about them.

"Not to be rude, but uh--" She pointed to the turtles around the room.

"Of course. Veronica, these are my friends. Guys, this is Veronica Carlson." Leo stood up and folded his hands, bowing to her.

"It's nice to meet you, Veronica. My name is Leonardo."

"Same hea, Leo. I'm Ronnie." April then pointed to the purple turtle.

"How do you do, I'm Donatello." Don held out his hand and Ronnie came forward to shake it.

"Hey Donnie, I'm Ronnie." Miss O'Neil turned her attention to the orange bandanaed turtle, who was balancing a very expensive antique on his head. She gasped.

"Mikey, please! That's easily breakable!" Mikey put it down on the table and when he saw the look April was giving him, he turned to Veronica and smiled at her sheepishly.

"I'm Michelangelo, dudette." She giggled.

"Wise-guy, eh?" She asked and he grinned broadly.

"Uh-huh." She turned her attention to the last turtle in the room, who seemed to be rather apathetic about the current situation. He looked at the girl as well, and twirled his sai in a bored manner, the same as he was before she came in.

"And I'm Raphael." He put his weapons back in his belt and shook her hand. His grip loosened and he chuckled. "That's a firm grip ya got there, Ronnie."

"Thanks. You too. So April, why are there a buncha ... ya know, turtles in here? I mean, ain't mutant amphibians a little bit, ya know ... weird...?" Veronica asked, smiling wearily. Raphael's lip curled into a half smirk.

"Actually, we're turtles." He corrected. She looked confused, but shrugged it off.

"Well, they's both amphibious, ain't they?" She asked. Everyone looked at her oddly, and she blushed. Donatello rushed to save her.

"Well, actually, we're reptiles. It's a common mistake--"

"Oh no, it ain't! Yous would think I'd know the difference between a reptile and amphibian, but, well ... apparently not. I'm failin' biology." Raph raised his non-existent eyebrows.

"Figures."

"Stop being rude, Raphael." Splinter chimed in, and the turtle retreated immediately. Veronica looked at him.

"Oh, hello ... uh ... ?"

"Splinter." He said and smiled. She nodded.

"Well, it's nice to meet ya an' all but, well ... not ta be rude or nothin', it's just, I never see many giant turtles or rats around New York."

"But, you don't mind, do you, Veronica?" April asked. Ronnie grinned.

"No, o' course not, April. I won't tell nobody." She promised. Splinter looked her.

"I suppose I will have to explain. It's only right." Veronica nodded, eager to listen. Splinter sighed. "This is a story that begins with my master, Yoshi."

* * *

"-- and that, is how we came to be." The rat finished and closed his eyes in thought. Veronica looked at all of them again and nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, it's New Yawk. Anythin' can happen hea," she said grinning.

"Yeah, tell us about it." Leonardo replied.

"Oh, have you guys gotten in trouble hea or somethin'?" They were silent, until Raph spoke.

"Well that man, Baxta Stockman is a loony. He tried ta kill April when she found out his mousers were being used to commit crimes." Raph said. Veronica looked shocked and turned to April.

"Oh, Miss O'Neil, ya never told me that! I woulda punched his face in if I'd known!" She told her boss, cracking her knuckles. Raphael looked impressed and tried to get closer to her, but Mikey put his arm around her excitedly.

"Cool! Wanna be a part of our ninja club!" Mikey asked. Veronica laughed.

"Sorry, I'm no ninja." Veronica chuckled out.

"Bummer."

"It is getting late, my sons. Miss Carlson, you should should leave soon, your parents might get worried." Splinter said still in his meditation position, looking at her with his hands inside his robe's sleeve.

"Ah, it doesn't matta. My motha and fatha couldn't care less about me right now." The turtles and April looked at her in confusion. Splinter hummed in thought.

"Is something wrong at your house currently, Miss Carlson?" He asked softly and she sighed.

"Yeah, they's are in a divorce. All they care about is fightin' with each otha." She confessed.

"I see. Sometimes sheer anger can blind someone from what is really important." He said wisely.

"Yeah, that's fer sure." She replied, looking at her feet.

"Ya can come visit us if ya'd like, Ronnie." Raphael told her reassuringly. "Righ' masta Splinter?" Splinter smiled knowingly.

"Of course, my son. She is welcome."

"Yeah, dudette. Take the manhole on William St. and keep going north. Then take the nearest ladder to the left and go straight until you hit our lair!" Mikey revealed.

"So yous live in the sewer?"

"Yes." They all replied in unison. She smiled.

"That's cool. So, I'll go now and I'll visit yous tomorrow. Any chance one of yous can help me with my biology homework?" She asked. Donatello raised his hand. "Great! Thanks. I'll see you on Monday, April."

"Bye, Veronica. Have a nice weekend." Miss O'Neil said kindly.

"See ya tomorrow, Ronnie." Raph said and extended a hand. She took it and they stared at each other for a moment. She pulled away.

"Bye Raphael, bye everyone."

"Take care."

"Be well."

"Later!"

She smiled and left the room. This had to be one of the strangest days of her life.

_A/N: Kay, here's an update. I love writing it this story. I especially had fun with this chapter. Chapter Two will be out within the next week and I hope to get some more reviews. Please review and tell me what you think._


	3. Change and Congruency

**Title: Charismatic  
Author: Innocent Star Gazer  
Beta'ed: fantasyAge  
Pairings: April/Casey, Future Raphael/Veronica  
Rating: Young Adult - Mature  
Warnings: Mature language, Adult content, Mutant/Human relationships.  
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.**

Change and Congruency

"Yo, mom, dad! I'm home!" Veronica yelled to her parents and then went to her room on the other side of the very tiny apartment. Her parents slightly acknowledged her, but kept on fighting as if she never walked in. It didn't surprise her, it was all she had been going through since her parents decided that they had "irreconcilable differences", whatever the hell that meant. It was worse that they insisted that 'it was for her'. She wondered if that was really the case. Couldn't they just work it out like adults were supposed to do?

Veronica sighed on her bed and grabbed her Ipod (that she had won in a contest) off the only shelf in her room, that was so small, it could only fit a bed and a dresser. She flipped through the songs and tried to relax. She didn't know what was weirder: the fact the she had just met four giant turtles and rat, or the fact that her parents wouldn't be together anymore in a couple of weeks. It was even worse that she didn't know who she wanted to live with yet. Her step-mom, who was always kind to her and took her in as her own daughter; or her father, who always made time for her and attended every single one of her rugby games to cheer her on. Of course, she was almost eighteen and could probably get away with living by herself, but then again, could she really live alone in the dangerous New York City?

The sound of "Check Yes, Juliet", by We The Kings filled Ronnie's ears as she closed her eyes, resting but not sleeping. She hadn't had a good night's sleep for a couple weeks now, life was just too out of control. It was April, the time of year were semester two had just was almost half way done, and she found that the final semester of grade twelve was more stressful than ever, and it would get worse. She had at least four hours of homework every night: half an hour for sociology, an hour for English, an hour for law and an hour and a half for biology. Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn't even started.

She shut off her Ipod, remembering what her last semester World Issues teacher had told her about the human brain. The fact that the most they brain could concentrate for was fifteen minutes, and that was in complete silence. Distractions would just completely ruin the process. She smiled, remembering how that great study and work advice had earned her a World Issues credit with 96 percent. Her smile quickly faded when she remembered the task at hand.

"Oh! I'm neva gonna get inta law school!" She said angrily in her Brooklyn accent as she pulled her books out of her worn backpack. She needed to get into NYU, she just had too. Veronica thought that it was better not to leave all her homework for the weekend, procrastinating wasn't something she preferred to do. Well, at least she had Donatello to help her with biology now ... wait a minute. What was she thinking? She had a giant turtle helping her with her homework! "Aw, whateva," she said. "It's not like I ain't seen strange things in my life."

Law came easily, but it was sure time-consuming. There were so many laws in America, let alone the state of New York, not too mention most of them were slightly confusing. It was a good thing that she had an amazing memory, or else, Veronica was sure that she would fail. Her law teacher wasn't exactly the kindest of teachers. She was one of those older, cranky woman teachers that hated students and was only happy when she brought in pictures of all her 18 cats to show her pupils. Veronica shivered just thinking about her. She'd only been in her class for eight weeks, and had already gotten five detentions from the bitch, one of them for asking: "if thea's a state called Idaho, is thea a state called 'you-da-ho?'" Ms. McNally didn't take kindly to that question, although the class liked it.

Her law homework was finished within the hour and it was 9:00 when Veronica finally decided that she wanted to go to bed. She put her books away neatly and got out an old, dirty Fall Out Boy bag out of her dresser to put her biology work in for tomorrow. She walked out of her room for a moment and grabbed her keys from the rack to go to her family's closet, which was on the first floor of the apartment building, number 235. Her parents watched her walk out the door, but said nothing and Ronnie could hear the argument commencing on her way down the stairs; she had started to take the stairs instead of the elevator since last year, when her doctor suggested it. She had always been somewhat overweight, not chunky, but more broad. She guessed that was what made her so great at her favourite sport, Rugby.

She reached her closet and unlocked it, revealing her array of thrift store and bargain shop clothes. Veronica needed to pick out night clothes and something to wear to visit her new turtle friends the next day. She opened her small plastic dresser and picked out a tank top and a pair of plaid boxers for bed and then searched for an outfit for tomorrow. She eventually decided on a Hello Kitty t-shirt she had bought from Hot Topic before she had lost her job at Target a year ago. She hadn't been to that store since. Then she picked out a worn jean skirt and some cheap-looking red high-tops. It didn't match, but Veronica never had much fashion sense. Like she cared, she didn't have the money to have good fashion sense anyway. She changed in the bathroom just down the hallway, then put today's clothes in the hamper and locked the closet, carrying tomorrow's clothes up the stairs with her. This was something she had been doing for 12 years.

When she walked through the door, her parents were nowhere to be found. She read the note on the table: "Went out to Dunkin' Doughnuts, be back later.". Veronica sighed. Of course they weren't going to the doughnut shop, they probably went to separate bars to get drunk and be back in the morning after they sober up. It was a new tradition ever since a month ago; however, it was something Veronica knew about, but her parents thought she didn't. She ripped up the note and threw it in the garbage, hoping that would help her go to sleep without the anger threatening to burst out. She slammed the door to her room and smacked her alarm clock to the floor. The radio started playing, so she kicked it against the wall. _Great_, she thought, _just how am I supposed to afford a new alarm clock?_

* * *

Veronica woke up lying in the small space between her bed and dresser. She looked up to check the time, then remembered that she had broken her only clock. Oh boy, that was just great. She got up and started changing into the clothes she had picked out last night and put on her favourite pair of bicycle gloves to wear as well, the ones she had gotten from a garage sale just a few months ago. Others may laugh, but she thought they were lucky. Veronica grabbed her Fall Out Boy bag and slung it over her shoulder, ready to leave for the day. When she stepped into the family room (which consisted of the living room and kitchen), she was not surprised to find that her parents weren't back yet. Ronnie grabbed a sticky note from the fridge and wrote a message that she was out.

As she walked downstairs, she checked the time on the apartment clock. It was 12:30, a fairly decent time. She would be at the turtles lair in a good half hour, if her pace was good. She walked out the door and got a large breath of that _fresh_ New York City air and joined the crowd of people walking to wherever that needed to be. It was no different than any other day. People walking quickly and with determination, and no one started anything when they bumped into one another. It was New York. People were busy, had places to go, people to see.

Ronnie reached William Street and sighed. Exactly how was she supposed to go into the sewer without people noticing her? Of course, the manhole was on a private street, but still. She looked around and cautiously made her way down the ladder into the putrid waters. Then repeated Michelangelo's directions. "Go nawth and take the nearest ladder on da left." She said and did so, making her way up until she reached the top. "Now go straight until I hit the lair." She frowned when she saw it in the distance. She'd be there in ten minutes. She kept walking and then kicked a metal can at the wall. "Somedays it just don't pay ta get outta bed."

She came across the door and knocked politely, then waiting for an answer. She stood silently until she heard people on the inside, arguing. She heard a large smack and a loud 'OW!' from Mikey. Raphael finally answered the door, grinning broadly as though he had finally done what he wanted to do for a long time.

"Yo, Ronnie. Sorry 'bout the delay." He told her earnestly.

"Oh, no problem." She replied and stepped in as he moved out of the way. She looked around at the place and was amazed. For a place in the sewers, it was beautiful, simply stunning. Raph watched her and smiled.

"It's not much."

"You kiddin'? It's ten times the size o' my place." Veronica waved at the other turtles and looked round for Michelangelo. "...Uh ... Mikey? Whea did ya go?" Mikey ran up behind her and glomped her.

"Ronnie!" He screamed excitedly. She laughed, but Raph narrowed his eyes at his younger brother threateningly.

"Let go of her, Mikey. You're hurtin' her."

"Am not!" He argued back. Raphael growled and went to remove the sais from his belt.

"Raphael!" Splinter reprimanded his son as he came from his room. Mikey stuck his tongue out at his brother and laughed, while Raph looked almost murderous. Master Splinter and Veronica greeted each other and then she went over to Donatello and Leonardo. Ronnie removed her biology homework from her bag and passed it to Don, who was wearing his special magnifying glasses.

"Can ya please help me, Dawnie?" She asked him shyly and he smiled brightly.

"Sure! It'll be fun." He replied. "What do you need help with?"

"Everythin'."

"Gosh." Donatello said, rubbing the back of his head. "Then we better get started."

"Yeah, 'bout that, Dawnie ... uh, could ya just do it fo' me?" He raised non-existent eyebrows at and looked at her in a reprimanding manner through his magnified glasses, silently asking her if she really meant that. She regarded him with large, brilliant puppy dogs eyes, and he sighed, tapping his foot with a frown, clearly demonstrating his disapproval in the matter.

"If I did it all for you, Veronica, you wouldn't learn anything and you'll fail your exams."

"Aw, please, Dawnatello!" She begged. "I'll study it!"

"Why did you even take Biology anyway?" He asked wearily. She blinked and pursed her lips.

"My friend was takin' it." Leonardo looked at her incredulously, while Don slapped a hand to his forehead and gave her an 'you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me' look.

"Veronica!!" They both scolded her on her stupidity. Raphael and Michelangelo jumped into the scene.

"Just do it for her, Donnie!" Said Raph. "It ain't gonna hurt ya." Don glared at him, but took the homework and started working on it anyway.

"Thanks, Dawn. I appreciate it, I really do."

"Fine, but I'm quizzing you afterwords, so you better know the differences between vitalist vs. mechanist philosophy."

"Heh ... refresh my memory."

* * *

Veronica watched as the turtles engaged in battle with other after her work was finished, and she quickly learned that Leonardo was the best fighter out of all of them, while Michelangelo was amazing at annoying the snot out of you. He seemed to be bothering Raphael, teasing him about his skills. Then Raph lost it. He screamed at his younger brother and pinned him against the wall dangerously, anger flashing through his dark eyes.

"Raph, let him go!" Leonardo commanded and the red masked turtle turned to look at the leader wearily, then pulled his hands off Mikey and started walking towards the exit of the lair.

"I'm leavin'."

"No, you're not." Leo countered. Raph growled deep in his throat.

"Oh really, _fearless leada_? Why not?" He asked and his brother just calmly back with a look, instead of using words. Raph gave him the middle finger and continued on his way out. Veronica yelled at him.

"Raphael, come back hea! Dun leave!"

"He has to blow of some steam, Ronnie. Just let him go." He told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She pulled away and put her hands on her hips. Leo looked dumbstruck, as though she was seriously the first person ever to stick up for his hot-headed brother.

"Ron, he does this all the time," Mikey explained to her calmly. "This isn't the first time. He's got some bad anger management issues." Veronica smiled.

"Aw, really? I used ta take lessons fo' that."

"And, did it work?" Leo asked kindly.

"Naw, not really. Instucta told me ta count ta ten."

"...Then what?" Don asked her.

"I punched 'is face in." All three turtles took a step back from her at the news. She smiled. "I ain't gonna hurt yous, dun think I could if I wanted. I told yous, I ain't no ninja."

"No, but I think you could give the Purple Dragons a run for their money." Leo added, smirking slightly. She smirked as well.

"Yeah, I hate them scums, but I hea' that thea's a dangerous group backin' them up, and yous dun wanna mess wit 'em."

"Oh yeah, those ninja guys." Michelangelo announced, and Veronica chuckled.

"I'm sure yous taught 'em a lesson or two.." She looked at her watch. "Guys, as much as I'd love to stay--"

"No worries," Leonardo told her. "Do you know where to go?"

"Yeah." Ronnie replied.

"Well, we're going to train on the rooftops tomorrow, if you'd like to come with us." He offered politely. She grinned.

"Yeah, sounds great."

"Cool! Same bat time, same bat sewer!" Veronica laughed as Mikey hugged her again. Leo and Don sighed at their brother's antics.

"Bye, Veronica." Leo extended a hand, but she forced a hug on him. He seemed shocked for a moment, but hugged back anyway. Donatello, who had turned around to grab her bag, smiled as Veronica foolishly thought she was sneaking up on him. He could hear her coming a mile away. Ronnie jumped on him and he walked over to the door with the teenage girl clinging on to him.

"See you tomorrow, well ... that is if you'd ever let go of me." Don told her, handing her bag over as she jumped off.

"Tell Raph and Master Splinter I said goodbye." They nodded and she walked out the door happily. Leo smiled as she disappeared from view.

"She's nice."

"Yeah, totally." Mikey agreed, while Don looked uneasy.

"You think that she'll remember that she has a biology test on Monday?"

"No chance." The two other brothers said in unison and smiled. "We'll tell her tomorrow."

* * *

Veronica was almost half-way home and was surprised to see that it was already past the time her family had dinner. She was going to be in big trouble when she got home. She continued walking, but paused when she heard something within the depths of the dark alley she had just passed. Ronnie went back and looked for the cause of the noise, but saw nothing.

The streets were still noisy and traffic was at a high, as a result, it took Veronica fifteen minutes just to cross the street to her apartment. She pulled out her key and opened the door, going inside. Then, in content, Raphael finally gave her one last look and went home.

_A/N: What I find is that when people write OCs, there is no history behind them, so here's what Veronica is all about. Hopefully, I made the situation clear without actually telling you all of the details straight out. Hope you liked it. And if you didn't get the line "Same bat time", it was from Batman. Please review, I'd really appreciate it._


End file.
